In The Beginning
by Mikomi Hatake
Summary: Before Connect 3 they were just four good friends. No record label, no agents. This is the story of how the band was formed and how a best friend was lost. Takes place before Camp Rock.
1. Chapter 1

In The Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock, or any of its characters. I do own Cathy Green. Any songs used in this belong to their rightful owners

Author Notes: I have been juggling this idea in my head for several days now. I wanted to get it out before the plot bunnies overrun my brain. Let me know what you think of it. This will be a multi chapter story.

There was once a time when no one had heard of Connect 3. Before Camp Rock and before the music label there were just four friends. Four good friends who had know each other for their whole lives.

They had attended the same school since preschool, they learned to swim in the same community pool, they rode the same bus to school, they ditched classes together, and they played music in the same garage.

The four friends had been playing music in Jason's garage since the first day of fourth grade. They had played countless talent shows, and were even the main event at the annual block party.

Shane Gray was the boy behind the lyrics. He could write a song in a matter of hours, with the proper motivation. He could also play the guitar, but he preferred his acoustic guitar, and he preferred playing only for a certain girl.

Jason White was a pro at playing his electric guitar. He had taught himself in only a few days, and he could play along to anything that Shane sung. He was the one who wrote all the music.

Nate Black was the youngest member of the garage band. He enjoyed playing the drums and singing alongside his cousin Shane. Jason had shown him the basics of the guitar, and sometimes Nate played alongside him.

Cathy Green was the only female allowed inside Jason's garage. She stood beside Shane playing her bass guitar, and occasionally she would sing alongside him. She was the motivation for most of Shane's songs, even if he never acknowledged it.

No one would admit it, but Cathy was the glue that held their band together. She stopped the three boys from arguing, and she always kept track of their practices and performances. Nate and Jason both saw Cathy as their younger sister, and always protected her from the class bullies. Shane had other feelings for the brown haired girl. Shane had a permanent crush on the bass player.


	2. Chapter 2

In The Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock, or any of its characters. The song mentioned in this chapter belongs to Jonas Brothers. I do own Cathy Green.

Author Notes: I have most of this story worked out already. I know whats going to happen, and I really just have to type it out. Updates may be slow during the week because I do work full time, but I will try my hardest to get this done in a timely matter.

_Today is the first day of high school. I am so nervous that I don't even want to get out of bed. I'm afraid I won't have any classes with the boys this year. I'm just glad we will ride the bus together, and I know we will sit together at lunch. I just pray that we have at least one class together._

"Cathy, breakfast is ready!" Her mother shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

She snapped shut her diary and slipped out of bed. "Coming mom!" She grabbed her jeans off the back of her chair, and reached inside her closet for the first shirt she could find. She dressed quickly and grabbed her backpack that sat by the door.

She was halfway down the stairs when she realized she had forgotten her glasses.

Her mother passed her a plate of steaming food. Pancakes and bacon. She ate quickly and was out the door before her mother even had the chance to join her.

Freshman year would start the same way as any other day. They would all wake up earlier than needed and meet in Jason's garage to practice before the bus pulled up. She could hear Nate playing his heart out on the drums before she even pushed open the side door. Jason sat in a chair with his headphones on, nodding his head to the beat. His hair bouncing with his movement. Neither of the boys noticed her.

She pulled her black bass off the stand and began to play a tune that had been running through her mind for the past few days.

"_Its cool, were just friends. We walk the halls at school. We know its causal."_

Nate heard her playing, and quickly changed his tune to match hers. She threw him a small smile as her fingers quickly moved along the frets.

The door to the garage opened and Shane slid into the room. Jason was still head banging with his headphones, and Nate and Cathy were engrossed in their song.

"_Everyone knows its meant to me. Falling in love, just you and me, 'til the end of time."_

The black haired boy smiled as he watched his friends. They were playing the song he had written for Cathy. He made his way to the center of the room and began to sing along.

"_I've been making lots of plans, like a picket fence and a rose garden. I just keep on dreaming."_

Cathy's head shot up at the sound of his voice. "Shane."

"You sounded great." He gave her a genuine smile. "But the bus will be here any minute."

Jason chose this time to look around his garage. "Hey guys! When did you get here?"


	3. Chapter 3

In The Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock, or any of its characters. The songs mentioned in this story belong to Jonas Brothers. I do own Cathy Green.

Author Notes: Lots of rain in my town. Roads were flooded. It was a good day. I believe.

Chapter Three

Cathy raced towards the art wing of her new high school. Her music class began in less than two minutes, and she refused to be late on her first day. She had to set a good first impression, even if she did get lost, twice. She spotted the classroom at the end of the hall, and she pushed herself harder. She slid into the classroom as the bell rang, and she heard a familiar voice congratulate her.

"Nice entry Cat."

"Shane!" He gave her a small smile and motioned for her to sit near him. It was then she then noticed that Jason and Nate were also in her class. It was going to be a good year.

"Hey!" Jason gave her a quick high-five.

Cathy took a moment to take a quick glance around the room. It was a well stocked classroom. A piano, drum set, and shelves of music books. There were three soundproof rooms connected to the classroom, and she noticed the room itself was soundproof.

The large door slammed shut and the entire class went silent. A young woman stood at the front of the class. Her black hair framed her face, and she was dressed in designer clothing.

"Welcome to music class. I only have two rules this year, have fun and make some noise." The class erupted in cheers, and she gave her students a moment to settle down. "I also have a surprise for you. As some of you may know, there is an end of the year talent show," Several heads shot up "And this year the winner or winners of the talent show will win tickets to the famous Camp Rock!" The class broke out in chatter again, but the teacher chose to let them continue.

Shane turned to Nate and Jason, hoping they had the same idea as him. He knew Cathy picked up on it. If they played the talent show together they would be able to attend Camp Rock. Shane glanced over to Cathy and winked.

"We should totally do the talent show!" Jason shouted. "It would be a blast." His three friends just nodded in agreement.

Shane had it all planned out already. They would rock the talent show, and spend the summer at Camp Rock. He knew there would be agents from all the major record labels attending the Final Jam, and he was sure someone would hear how great they sounded.

Just as the class had settled down, Shane jumped out if his chair and shouted "This is the perfect opportunity!"

All eyes were on Shane Grey. Cathy could barely hold in the laughter as he turned bright red.

"Real Smooth." Nate snickered.

"Shut it."


	4. Chapter 4

In The Beginning  
Author Notes: So I do know how this story is going to end, but I have some unfilled gaps. This chapter happened to be one of those gaps. This chapter might not make sense, so let me know if it throws you off.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock or any of the Camp Rock characters. I do own Cathy Green. The song used in this chapter is Crazy Kinda Crush on You by Jonas Brothers.

Chapter Four

The four friends began practicing for the talent show the moment they returned home from school that day. Jason unlocked his garage, and Shane pushed past him into the open room. He headed straight for his guitar. Nate threw his backpack into the corner, and grabbed a set of drum sticks on his way to his instrument.

Cathy was the last to wander into the garage that afternoon. She slipped in quietly into the room and watched her three friends from the door. Jason was standing to the side, his fingers moving flawlessly across his guitar. Nate was drumming out a steady beat, and Shane was holding the microphone as he moved around the room.

_"First day at school, I was tryin to play it cool. Chillin with my friends, tryin to pretend that I didn't notice you"_

She sighed as she listened to the lyrics. He was singing about a girl that he met that morning in school. Her eyes were filled with sadness as she watched him sing his heart out.  
_  
"Cause I got this awesome, amazing, crazy kinda crush on you"_ Shane shut his eyes as he belted out the lyrics. One girls face came into view. Brown hair, brown eyes, and a perfect smile. He grinned as he continued with their new song. _"And though I try to forget you it doesn't matter what I do." _

Cathy dropped her bag near Nate's, and the sound alerted the boys that she had arrived. Shane stopped singing, and gave her a small smile.

"Did you guys write a new song?" She asked.

"Yeah." Nate was grinning from ear to ear. "Shane and I started to write it on the bus."

Jason flipped his hair out of his eyes. "Shane has a crush on someone." Shane grunted and Nate threw a drumstick at his friend. "Ouch. What was that for?"

"Shut up Jason."

"But we all know you have a crush on…Ouch!" Another drumstick was thrown at Jason. "Oh I get it. I'm not supposed to tell Cathy!"

"Shut up Jason!"

"Sorry." He mumbled. "I forgot."

Cathy shook her head and sighed. She knew the time would come when Shane would begin to notice girls, she just didn't expect it to be so soon. Sure he looked at girls in middle school, but he had never written a song about one of them before. She grabbed her bass off the stand and began to tune it.

Shane grabbed his song book off the desk and opened it to the last page he had filled out. He reached for his pen and began to finish his song.

_Cause my knees got weak,  
Knocked off my feet.  
I tried but I couldn't find the words to speak.  
I can't let go my heart says WOAH!  
Girl I gotta let you know._


	5. Chapter 5

Author Notes: I have no explanation for why this is so late, so I'm not even going to give you a bs excuse. I am looking for a new title for this story and I would like to hear any suggestions that you may have.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock or any of the Camp Rock characters. I do own Cathy Green.

Chapter Five

The next few weeks flew by, with classes, homework, and band practice. Their mornings were spent practicing in the garage, preparing for the talent show, and they spent their evenings writing songs and rushing to finish the assigned homework. Shane continued to sing about his mystery girl, and Cathy threw herself into her playing. She let all her emotion out through her bass, her frustration, sadness, and her unrelented love for Shane.

One morning, around the second month of the semester, Cathy slipped into the garage before sunrise, and began to play the song she had written herself. Jason and Shane knew nothing of this, but for the past couple of days Nate had helped her write her song. Cathy let her fingers glide over the strings of her bass, playing the familiar tune. She closed her eyes as she began to sing.

_"You just don't know it, it's getting hard to say hello.  
You just don't know it, I'm on the edge of crossing the line  
I don't want to blow it, and show it  
Before you know you're mine. You just don't know it"_

As Shane was about to enter the garage he heard the sound of Cathy playing, and could almost pick up the lyrics. He placed his backpack outside the door, and snuck in, trying not to disturb his friend. He silently shut the door and listened as the brown haired girl continued to play. She didn't even hear him come inside.

_"Oh you won't see me break, won't make that mistake, oh no  
I'll just walk away. There's too much at stake right now.  
I go on and on, singing this song about you  
And that's what's wrong with this song?_"

He could feel the emotion in her voice, and the tears that were threatening to break free only added to her intensity. Shane had never seen his best friend like this before. She was so vulnerable, yet so guarded at the same time.

_"Can you feel it? In the way I look at you?  
Boy, can you hear it? I'm crying out inside.  
I don't want to see you, be near you.  
You're a million miles too__ close"_

While she sang there was only one person on her mind, and that was her best friend, Shane Gray. He was still crushing on his mystery girl, and it took everything she had not to tell him how she really felt. But she knew that would tear apart their friendship and the band.

_"You don't know the way I feel  
So I'll stay alone."_


End file.
